Jibril: the Envoy to the Prophets
There are several accounts of the way the revelation started to come to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Muslim transmitted in his Sahih from Ibn Shihab az- Zuhri who said that 'Urwa b. az-Zubayr had related to him that 'A'isha, the wife of the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"The beginnings of revelation to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, took the form of true dreams. Whenever he had this kind of dream, it was something clear like the break of day. Then he was made to love going into retreat and used to retire to the cave of Hira' where he would devote himself to the wor ship of Allah alone, continuing in this worship for a num- ber of nights until he felt inclined to return to his family. He would take provisions for his stay. Then he would return to Khadija to restock with provisions and do the same again. This lasted until the Truth came to him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and said, "Read!" He said, 'I cannot read. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'He seized me and squeezed me until all the strength went out of me and then released me and said, "Read!" I said, "I cannot read.""
"Then he seized me and squeezed me a second time until all the strength went out of me and then released me. Then he seized me and squeezed me a third time and then released me, and then he said, "Read in the name of your Lord who created man from a blood clot. Read, and your Lord is the Most Generous."""
[She went on.] "Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, returned with that, his heart quaking. He came to Khadija and said, 'Wrap me up! Wrap me up!" They wrapped him up until the state of terror had left him and then he said to Khadija. 'O Khadija, what is wrong with me!" and told Khadija what had happened and said, 'I am afraid for myself. Khadija said to him, "No, by Allah, Allah would never bring dis- grace upon you. You maintain ties of kinship, speak the truth, bear people's burdens, help the destitute, give hospi- tality to your guests and help those who have been afflict- ed by calamities."
"Khadija then went with him to her cousin, Waraqa ibn Nawfal ibn Asad ibn 'Abdu'l-'Uzza, who had become Christian during the Jahiliyya. He could write Hebrew and had written in it as much of the Evangel as Allah willed. He was an old man who had gone blind. Khadija said, 'Cousin! Listen to your nephew. Waraqa said to him, 'Nephew, what is it that you have seen?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, told him what he had seen. Waraqa said to him, "This is the Namus which was sent to Musa, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. I wish that I were still young. I hope 1 will still be alive when your people drive you out! The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, 'Will they drive me out?" He said, 'Yes, no man has brought anything similar to what you have brought without being treated with hostility. If I am still alive on that day, I will give you my strong support."
The words, "This is the Namus which was sent to Musa," refer to Jibril, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. The people of language and rare haaith say that linguistically the "namus" is someone with a good secret and the "jasus" is someone with an evil secret. Scholars agree that Jibril, peace be upon him, is called the Namus and they agree that he is what is meant here. Imam al- Hurawi said, "He is called that because Allah Almighty singled him out for the unseen and revelation."
Al-Bukhari transmitted with ah isnad from Jabir b. "Abdullah, in the hadith speaking about the time when there was a interval in the Revelation, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"While I was out walking, I suddenly heard a voice from heaven. I raised my eyes and there was the same angel who had come to me at Hira'. He was sitting on a chair between heaven and earth. I was afraid of him and returned home and said, "Wrap me up! Wrap me up!" Then Allah sent down, O you shrouded in your mantle, arise and warn'.... up to 'and avoid uncleanliness. After that revelation became intensive and continuous."
Al-Bukhari transmitted in his Sahih from 'A'isha, Umm al- Mu'minin, may Allah be pleased with her, that al-Harith b. Hisham asked the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, "Messenger of Allah! How does the revelation come to you?" The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
"Sometimes it comes to me like the ringing of a bell - and this is the hardest on me which then leaves me after I have fullynderstood and retained what was said. Sometimes the angel comes to me in the form of a man and speaks to me and I retain what he says."
'A'isha, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
"I saw him when the revelation was descending on him on a very cold day and when it left him his brow was drip- ping with perspiration."
Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, said that there were seven ways in which revelation came.
1) The first was the true dream. This was the beginning of revelation to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Whenever he had this kind of dream, it was clear like the break of day.
2) There was also what the angel imparted to his soul and heart without him seeing him, as the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "The Spirit of Purity imparted to my heart that no self dies until its provision is complete, so fear Allah and be moderate in asking. Do not let delay of provision move you to seek it by disobeying Allah. What is with Allah is only obtained by obeying Him."
3) The third was that the angel used to take on the form of a man for the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and speak to him so that he remem- bered what he said to him. It is in this form that the Companions used sometimes to see him.
4) Revelation used also to come to him like the ringing of a bell. This was the hardest for him. The angel would make it so difficult for him that his brow would drip with perspiration on even a very cold day and his camel would be forced into kneeling on the ground when he was riding it. On one occasion reve- lation came like that when his thigh was resting on the thigh of Zayd b. Thabit and it became so heavy that it nearly broke Zayd's thigh.
5) The fifth way was that he saw the angel in his true form and he would reveal to him whatever Allah. wished to reveal to him. This occured twice to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as Allah Almighty mentions in Surat an-Najm.
6) The sixth was when Allah revealed things to him directly such as the obligation of the prayer and other things when he was above the heavens during the Night Journey.
7) The seventh were the words of Allah which came to Him without the intermediary of the angel, in the same way that Allah spoke to Musa son of 'Imran. This kind of revelation is absolutely confirmed in the case of Musa by the text of the Qur'an and in the case of our Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the hadith of the Night Journey.